17th Annual Meeting of the Society for Conservation Biology Book of Abstracts Duluth Entertainment Convention Center Duluth, Minnesota, USA 28 June - 2 July 2003 O Presentation Types and Session Titles Abstracts are organized alphabetically by first author. Abstract numbers represent the type and sequence of presentations. See page 201 for an index of presenting and contributing authors. C – Contributed Oral Sessions C01 Alien and Invasive Species I: Ecosystem Impacts C02 Conservation Genetics I C03 Conservation Issues Concerning Herpetofauna I C04 Community Ecology C05 Conservation Area Planning and Management I C06 Alien and Invasive Species II C07 Conservation Genetics II C08 Wetland Ecology C09 Spatial Ecology and Conservation I C10 Education and Outreach C11 Alien and Invasive Species III C12 Economic and Social Issues of Conservation Biology I C13 Conservation Issues Concerning Herpetofauna II: Mortality and Malformation Issues C14 Spatial Ecology and Conservation II: Wetlands and Riparian Zones C15 Conservation Area Planning and Management II C16 Economic and Social Issues of Conservation Biology II C17 Pathogens and Populations C18 Inventory and Monitoring I C19 Conservation Issues Concerning Herpetofauna III: Distribution and Habitat Use C20 Conservation Area Planning and Management III C21 Endangered Species I C22 Conservation Issues Concerning Mammals I C23 Conservation Issues Concerning Birds I: Forested Systems C24 Conservation Area Planning and Management IV C25 Spatial Ecology and Conservation III C26 Bridging the Gap Between Scientists and Managers C27 Conservation Issues Concerning Mammals II C28 Conservation Issues Concerning Birds II C29 Disturbance Ecology C30 Spatial Ecology and Conservation IV: Habitat Isolation and Metapopulations C31 Conservation Area Planning and Management V C32 Conservation Issues Concerning Fish C33 Marine Conservation Issues I: Fisheries Management C34 Inventory and Monitoring II C35 Conservation Issues Concerning Invertebrates C36 Population Dynamics C37 Economic and Social Issues of Conservation Biology III C38 Endangered Species II C39 Marine Conservation Issues II C40 Restoration Ecology I C41 Population Viability Analysis C42 Ecosystem Management C43 Endangered Species III C44 Conservation Genetics III C45 Aquatic Ecology C46 Conservation Issues Concerning Global Climate Change C47 Conservation in the Face of Urbanization C48 Conservation Genetics IV C49 Conservation Issues Concerning People C50 Conservation Biology in Grassland Systems C51 Conservation Issues Concerning Birds III C52 Landscape Ecology I 2 C53 Science and Policy in Conservation Biology I C54 Biogeography C55 Indigenous Knowledge and Conservation C56 Conservation Issues Concerning Birds IV C57 Landscape Ecology II C58 Science and Policy in Conservation Biology II C59 Restoration Ecology II C60 Conservation Issues Concerning Plants P – Posters NOTE: Some numbers not represented due to late cancellations. P001 - 004 Aquatic Ecosystem Assessment and Conservation P005 - 012 Inventory and Monitoring P013 - 019 Conservation Issues Concerning Birds P020 - 024 Landscape Ecology P025 - 029 Spatial Ecology and Conservation P031 - 037 Conservation Area Planning and Management P038 - 040 Ecosystem Management P043 - 050 Scientists, Managers and Policy Makers – Bridging the Gaps P051 - 053 Education and Outreach P054 - 055 Marine Conservation P056 - 060 Conservation Issues Concerning the Great Lakes P061 - 066 Conservation Issues Concerning Fish P067 - 068 Aquatic Ecology P069 - 074 Conservation Issues Concerning Amphibians and Reptiles P075 - 080 Conservation Issues Concerning Mammals P081 - 098 Conservation Genetics P099 - 107 Population Dynamics P108 - 115 Endangered Species P116 - 119 Conservation Issues Concerning Invertebrates P120 - 126 Alien and Invasive Species P127 - 129 Grassland Ecology P130 - 132 Conservation Issues Concerning Plants P133 - 140 Disturbance and Restoration Ecology PL – Plenary Sessions PL-01 Michael P. Dombeck PL-02 David Schindler PL-03 Joy Zedler PL-04 Jane Lubchenco S – Invited Symposia S01 Conservation in a Warmer World: Great Lakes Ecosystems, Climate Change and the Need for New Approaches for Ecosystem Protection S02 The Interface of Land-Use Planning and Biodiversity Protection S03 Maintaining Connections for Nature: The Importance of Connectivity for Conservation S04 Human Interaction with Aquatic Systems: How Knowledge of Aquatic Systems Impacts Individual and Institutional Action S05 The Future of Conservation Biology in Austral and Neotropical America S06 Values, Ecology and Management: Integrating Biodiversity and Great Lakes Fisheries Management S07 Reversing the Paradigm: Science-Based Conservation Planning in the Boreal Forest S08 Freshwater Biodiversity Conservation: Transitioning from Priorities to Action S09 Protecting Moving Targets: Integrating Movement Ecology and Conservation Practice S10 Coastal Wetland Vegetation as a Harbinger of Environmental Change S11 Community Involvement in Crane and Ecosystem Conservation on Three Continents S12 Comparing Marine and Terrestrial Ecosystems: Implications for Conservation Theory and Practice S14 Conservation Planning for Wide-Ranging Species: Challenges and Strategies S15 Marine Reserves: A Global Perspective W – Workshops Note: All other workshops involve informal presentations for which abstracts were not required. W02 Cybertracker: A Data Collection Tool for Land-Managers, Ecologists and Wildlife Biologists 3 C23-08 ACEVEDO, MIGUEL A. Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, PO Box 23360, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00931-3360 ([email protected]). AVIAN SPECIES DISTRIBUTION ALONG A LAND-USE MOSAIC: PUERTO RICO AS A CASE STUDY Avian distribution responds to the spatial arrangement of landscape attributes, and land-use is one of the determinants of these attributes. I used data from the Puerto Rican Breeding Bird Survey (PRBBS) and from a digital land-use and road map of Puerto Rico to examine how bird assemblages are affected by land-use practices. I drew a 200-m buffer along 42 PRBBS routes distributed along the whole island of Puerto Rico representing data from 1997 to 2001 and in each route a GIS extracted information on percent of land-use types (7 types) for each route. A non-metric multidimensional scaling analysis (NMS) that ordinates bird species based on land-use types showed two main clusters: the first associated with montane forest (lower montane, submontane and coffee) and the second with disturbed habitat conditions (agriculture, urban, dry forest and pasture). In addition all endemic species were part of the cluster associated with montane forest and most of the exotic species were part of the cluster representing bird species that can resist disturbed habitat conditions. Conservation efforts to preserve native, and in particular endemic birds in Puerto Rico, should focus on the preservation and restoration of montane forests. C48-02 ADAMS, JENNIFER, Buddy Fazio, and Lisette Waits. Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83844-1136, USA ([email protected]) (JA, LW); Red Wolf Recovery Program, PO Box 1969, Manteo, NC 27954, USA (BF). THE EFFECT OF GENOTYPING ERRORS ON POPULATION SIZE ESTIMATES DERIVED FROM FECAL SAMPLING Previous research suggests that errors associated with non-invasive genetic sampling can bias population estimates derived from mark-recapture analysis. This study attempts to determine the magnitude of the bias using field data. Genotypes were generated at eight microsatellite loci for red wolf (Canis rufus) fecal material (scat) collected in the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge (ARNWR) in northeastern North Carolina. Scats were collected along refuge roads during three sampling periods. Genotype data were replicated at each locus. Four acceptance criteria for unique genotypes were created to simulate differing levels of genotyping errors and program CAPTURE was used to generate population size estimates. The amplification success rate for eight loci was 56%. Under the least stringent and most error prone criterion for accepting unique genotypes, CAPTURE estimated a population size of 71 individuals. This estimate is almost 6 times larger than the known population size of 12 individuals. Under the most stringent criterion CAPTURE estimated a population size of 17 which is closer to the true population size. Of the 12 known individuals, 11 were detected with the scat sampling. These results suggest that if genotyping errors are accounted for, reasonable population size estimates can be obtained using non-invasive genetic sampling. C53-06 ADKINS GIESE, COLLETTE, Francesca Cuthbert, and Linda Wires. Joint Degree Program in Law, Health and the Life Sciences, University of Minnesota Law School, 229-19th Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA ([email protected]) (CA); Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, University of Minnesota, 1980 Folwell Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA (FC, LW). RESOLVING CONFLICTS BETWEEN CORMORANTS AND FISHERIES: IS U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE SIDESTEPPING FEDERAL PROTECTIONS FOR MIGRATORY BIRDS? Double-crested Cormorants are federally protected migratory birds that have experienced significant population growth. The abundance of these piscivorous birds has led to conflicts with fisheries and allegations of harm to other colonial waterbirds. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) responded by proposing a Public Resource Depredation Order to allow state and federal agencies